NEWS RELEASE: F1 should not host the Grand Prix in Bahrain

18Apr13
The Bahraini government is using excessive and uncalled for force to suppress pro-democracy protests in the lead up to Sunday’s Grand Prix. The Gulf regime is still refusing to respect the basic human rights of the Bahraini people, including the right to free speech and to the right to protest peacefully.  Earlier this week former racing driver Damon Hill called on F1 to take an ethical stance on
hosting the race in Bahrain.

Kirsty Hughes, Index CEO said:
‘Yet again the Bahraini Government is using the Grand Prix to present a favourable image of itself to the international community. In reality the regime suppresses protest, silences dissent and imprisons activists on trumped up charges. While people are being denied their basic human rights, F1 should not host the race in Bahrain and the race’s sponsors should withdraw their support.

Pro-democracy demands have been brutally suppressed in Bahrain since uprisings began on February 14, 2011. The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), which received an Index Freedom of Expression Award in 2012,estimate that there have been 89 deaths over the last two years. One of the many people imprisoned by the regime is Nabeel Rajab, currently serving a two-year sentence for organising so-called “illegal gatherings”.  In March 2012, while accepting the Index award on behalf of BCHR human rights activist Rajab said that the international community heard little about uprisings in Bahrain because ‘we have oil’.